Service aims to make owners more aware of canine health

Dog owners in the borders can get a free health MOT for their dogs this month.

It is being run by animal charity PDSA in a bid to ensure every pet has a happy and healthy life.

A PDSA vet nurse will be on board one of the charity's PetCheck vehicles, which travels across the UK every year providing free health checks and offering expert pet care advice.

Nurse Emma McDonald will deliver PDSA's specially developed PetWise MOT for every dog, which assesses the five elements pets need to be healthy and happy, known as the welfare needs.

These are diet, environment, companionship, behaviour and health. A simple traffic light system gives each pet a score, and a personalised action plan to help owners improve their pet's wellbeing.

Additional services including nail clipping and ear cleaning are also available free of charge although donations are welcome.

Microchipping, which is now mandatory for all dogs in the UK, is also available at a small cost, and cats protection neutering vouchers are also available.

Emma said: "We would love to catch up on the progress of all the dogs we saw on our last visit, and meet any that didn't manage to get to us. We expect to be busy, so we advise pet owners to call and make an appointment.

“By offering free, friendly advice and support, we can help owners make small changes that often make big differences to the wellbeing of pets in Scottish Borders."

Last year more than 3,500 PetWise MOTs were completed.